Teams excited about 33rd Virginia Duals wrestling tournament

HAMPTON --There have been 32 Virginia Duals, and Matt Small has taken part in 18 of them. The first six came as a competitor (three at Great Bridge, three at Old Dominion), and the remaining 12 have come as a coach at three schools on the Southside.

So as Small brings his Great Bridge wrestling team to the Hampton Coliseum for the 33rd edition of the Duals, which begin Friday morning, it's with a special charge.

"It's one of the highlights of our season," he said. "We really look forward to this. It's a great opportunity to see the outstanding state teams and we get to see college wrestling at all different levels. We have some guys who have dreams of being Division I guys, but they might have to look at other options.

"We've put a large emphasis on the tournament this year. Wrestling is individual sport, but there's a very important team concept. The Duals provide and show that."

The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the American Division, in which they finished third last year. There are also the National and the Black and Blue divisions with 16 teams — most from Virginia, but seven other states are represented — in each.

Among the teams from the Peninsula and Bay Rivers competing this weekend are Smithfield and New Kent in the National; Gloucester and Grafton in the American; and Hampton, Jamestown, Phoebus, Poquoson, Tabb and York in the Black and Blue.

Smithfield coach Chris Wiatt is excited about the challenge of wrestling in a division that includes national powerhouses such as South Plainfield (N.J.), Nazareth (Pa.), and his first-round opponent, McDonogh (Md.).

"It's an honor to wrestle in the National Division," he said. "Of course, we're probably the 16th team of 16 in the division. I look at it as an opportunity for my kids."

The college divisions are the National, which has 16 teams, and the American, which has eight. Old Dominion, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and VMI are in the college National Division. The Apprentice School and Liberty are in the American.

"We consider it a home meet," Old Dominion coach Steve Martin said. "Friday and Saturday, we expect to have a lot of fans here. It's a great atmosphere to compete in."

The college and high school coaches like having both levels competing at the same venue.

"It's a great thing for us," Apprentice coach Bruce Shumaker said. "High school kids get to see us and we get to see them. Hopefully, we can give them another option. Everybody's not a Division I wrestler."

"It's the perfect environment," Poquoson coach Eric Decker said. "It's a mix of high school and college, and our guys get to see the college competition and pick up some technical things. It provides an environment they otherwise don't get to compete in."

When the 33rd Virginia Duals wrestling tournament opens Friday morning at the Hampton Coliseum, Poquoson's Islanders will continue their distinction of being the only school, both high school and college, to participate in every one of the duals.

After two years of 16-team playoffs often involving long and expensive travel, but crowds too small to recoup the money, the Group 3A East Region has adopted a new football playoff system that will keep teams closer to home for the first three of (potentially) five games.

The mid-afternoon heat index neared 100 outside as rap played in the Heritage High hallways moments before the first official football practice of the 2015 season. You wouldn't have guessed that watching Hurricanes head coach George Massenburg.

Williamsburg Post 39 was eliminated from the state American Legion tournament with a 4-2, 10-inning loss Thursday to Rocky Mount Post 6 at Riverbend High in Fredericksburg. Rocky Mount scored twice in the top of the 10th.